Blogs

Police Are Not Out to Kill Minorities

Patrol • December 22, 2014

If you have listened to some in the media, purported civil rights leader Al Sharpton, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and others around the country over the last several weeks, you’re forced to believe that nearly all of America’s local and state police are out to kill minorities.

It’s a lie! It’s a lie that has inflamed the hearts and minds of many and turned them against every cop in the nation. It’s a lie that has the potential to rip America at its seams and cause damage far worse than any attack on our country, including that on 9/11/2001.

It’s a lie that has caused protests and riots all over this nation, communities to be burned to the ground, police officers to be attacked and beaten, and horribly, two New York City police officers to be assassinated.

Being a civilian in the law enforcement universe for more than a decade now, I've learned that—in addition to talking directly with cops, doing ridealongs, and attending police training—there is enormous value in reading a wide variety of law enforcement books and training materials.

Professor Joshua Clover—who teaches English and comparative literature at University of California at Davis, and according to his official bio, specializes in Marxism and "the end of capitalism"—said in an interview published in early 2016, "People think that cops need to be reformed. They need to be killed."

Formal youth programs—cadet, explorer, athletic league, summer internships, and others—can go a long way toward creating strong bonds between police and the community they serve. So, too, can one-on-one relationships like the one between Alanna Rodriguez and Mitch Brouillette.

Mountain lions and other very dangerous predators have been known to show up in densely populated cities. Elk have been known to get tangled in a farmer's fencing. Raccoons and opossums end up in storm drains and dumpsters on a regular basis. Here are some thoughts on dealing with non-human subjects in a way that keeps both the animal and the officer safe.

It's easy to look at the landscape of public opinion in America and come to the conclusion that the majority of people in the United States despise the police. However, the vitriolic anti-police sentiment demonstrated by a small number of the public, the press, and the political class is not an accurate reflection of how the majority of Americans feel about their law enforcement officers.

Following the murder of Corporal Ronil Singh, elected officials and law enforcement leaders across California are pointing to legislation friendly to illegal immigrants as the reason an illegal immigrant was able to murder the officer in cold blood.

Despite downward numbers of recruits seeking to join the ranks of law enforcement and increasing indications of de-policing across the country, we can—if we look hard enough—find countless bright spots for American policing in 2018.

Officer safety is obviously paramount—and should never be jeopardized by allowing a potentially dangerous subject who should be handcuffed to retain use of their hands—but weigh into your tactics the fact that communicating with a deaf subject who is handcuffed becomes significantly more difficult.

Foot patrol is the essence of community policing—officers on foot create opportunities for the public to connect with their police (and vice versa). Conversely, when officers are wrapped in two tons of metal and plastic, that opportunity for real connection is essentially lost.

Too many officers are driving themselves into their graves—turning their cars into their coffins—in single-vehicle crashes. According to ODMP, there were 34 such preventable duty deaths in a three-year span from 2016 to the present. It's impossible to know how many officers were seriously injured but survived single-vehicle crashes during that time period. Something must be done.